Well, here I am, posting my final update! *wipes sweat off brow*
There are 3 scenes here. In chronological order.
"Although, this does bring us closer to being able to solve two cases about fatherless boys."
"Erm, so before you change your mind then," Rusty took a few steps backwards, "or you decide I'm in trouble because of this," he added, eyes flickering over to Andy as if in support, "I'm gonna go to my room."
She looked at him as if to decide just that, whether he was in trouble or not, but then simply said, "Okay, we won't stay up much longer either."
Fidgeting on the spot he looked between her and Andy. "Oh, okay, then, good night." He gave them an awkward wave and walked down the hall towards his room.
"Good night," both Andy and Sharon called after him.
"Junior detective, huh?" Andy said when he heard Rusty's door close.
She leaned back on the couch, the bottle Rusty scored still on the corner of the table. "Detective, journalist, lawyer," she listed quietly, looking at the bottle. "It all sounds equally terrifying." On the last word she let out a sigh and her voice took on a slightly higher pitch.
Andy just chuckled. She was such a mother, he thought. "Well, he is your son. Terrifying sounds like the best way to go."
"Ha-ha," she gave him an unimpressed look.
"Okay, look," he scooted closer to her, the folder he was reading from earlier, still in his lap. "You may not like it, but he was careful." When she narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief, he raised his hands in surrender, but continued nonetheless. "He was in public. The guy wouldn't have just shot him with a dozen of people there to witness it and you know it."
"I know," she admitted, her features softening as she continued to look at him. "It wasn't completely reckless," she gave him a look that said "You're right about that", before continuing, "but if he had shared his plan with me, or at least Buzz, professionals could have done that." She waved a hand at the bottle.
She was right and there was no need to tell her he agreed with her. "So, are you gonna give him more grief about it?" he asked instead.
She shrugged a shoulder and gave him a conspiratorial smile. "Probably."
That's a yes, he thought to himself. "See," he flashed her a smile, "sneaky!" He poked her shoulder with a finger.
She threw a hand through the air, as if waving him off. "You are not taking this seriously!" She meant to sound firm, displeased even, but the laughter she was trying to keep at bay betrayed her in the way her voice quivered with its raised tone.
Andy's face, however, turned more serious even if his own voice went higher in its defensiveness. "I am!" He paused for a moment to find his normal voice. "But it is what it is and I will not have you worry yourself into another sleepless night about it." He let his hands drop on top of the folder as if to punctuate his decision. "You can do that once you've rested," he added with a firm nod of his head.
There wasn't much she could reply to that, so she just gave him an indulging smile. They both knew she'd still be thinking about this no matter what Andy told her, but she could make an effort to worry less. At least for the night.
"Fine," she told him, surprising him with her sudden much more relaxed attitude.
"Really?" he asked in disbelief, eyebrows raised, his mouth not closing completely as the word left it.
"Yes, really," she said firmly. She reached the folder on his lap with a deliberate movement and before moving away to put it down on the coffee table, she quickly kissed him.
"Okay," he said, less suspicious now, but narrowing his eyes at her.
When she leaned back on the couch and looked at him, he was still eyeing her, as if trying to find something in her features. It only lasted a moment, and she knew he found whatever he was looking for when he leaned in and caught her lips in another kiss, a longer one this time.
Hearing "We really need to get a bigger place." had them break apart and they both turned to look at the source of the words.
Rusty just shrugged and said "Sorry, thirsty," and walked past them into the kitchen.
"There's tap water in the bathroom," Andy grumbled when he was out of sight, sending Sharon into a fit of uncontrolled laughter even though she wasn't sure he was really joking.
"Come on," she said, still laughing as she got to her feet. "I'll put this away," she carefully reached for the bottle, "and I'll meet you in the bedroom."
Just then Rusty entered their field of view again, now holding a glass of water. "Urgh," he groaned. "A bigger place. As soon as possible," he told them, hurrying past them now.
"If I knew this," Andy waved a hand between himself and Sharon, getting to his feet as well, "was all it took for him to agree on us buying a house together-"
"Oh, just go to bed," Sharon interrupted him, aiming to sound exasperated but failing miserably, if the laughter in it was anything to go by.
"Yes, Ma'am, but hurry up." Andy stole another kiss from her. "Please," he added and trudged toward their bedroom.
She was busy putting the bottle in a plastic bag she fished out of her purse, when she heard his playful, "I'm waiting!"
She only shook her head at him and finally made her way to join the impatient man.
Hopefully Rusty didn't hear him.
They were on their way to Bullhood Trucking and she was riding with Julio. As always, the drive with him was quiet. Only this time the silence was rather uncomfortable. The Detective's tension was almost palpable.
"How's Mark?" Wildred Darnell was most certainly not the cause of his worries.
He sighed and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. "He's angry, disappointed, sad. I don't really know, Ma'am."
He sounded almost dismissive, but she decided to ignore it. "Rusty was at his worst whenever he feared I was trying to get rid of him." She suspected Julio was dealing with something very similar to what she went through with Rusty.
"Only I am getting rid of him." He said it through clenched teeth, knuckles going white with the unyielding grip he kept on the steering wheel.
She gave him a look he was pointedly ignoring. "No, you are not." There was a note of impatience mixed with exasperation in her voice.
He scoffed. "I might as well be."
His complete resignation almost threw her for a loop. "You are doing what is best for him." She was glad to see her voice had returned to its usual calm and steady tone.
"I know." He finally gave her a quick look before returning his focus on the road again. "But he's been doing so well now and I-" he fell silent, but his grip on the steering wheel loosened.
"And you worry he might regress again," she finished his sentence for him.
"Exactly," he threw her another look. "You understand," he added when he looked in front of him again. He didn't say it in surprise but rather as if he had just reminded himself of that.
She returned her own gaze to the road now. "As much as I knew I could help Rusty," she narrowed her eyes slightly, thinking about what she was going to say, "I also knew, a chance at being with his real family could help him even more." Not that she wasn't his real family. She looked back at Julio again. "Even if Rusty felt differently," she added.
He nodded. "Only, Ma'am," he gave her a quick look, "his family turned out to be an abusive father and a drug addicted mother," he said sarcastically.
"True," she agreed, looking away from him again, "and I regret that. But if they had been better people I would have let go of him." She carefully said those last four words and gave him a pointed look. "Whether it felt good or not."
He remained quiet for a moment and she didn't press him for a response. He squeezed the steering wheel again before replying. "And he is in touch with his biological mother now."
She nodded, "He is."
"I will keep in touch with him," he informed her.
"Because you want to make sure his family is good," she added knowingly.
He slanted her another look. "Because Mark wants me to. We both do." And before she could reply, he added, "But to do that, too."
She only responded with a soft smile.
After another brief pause he spoke again. "Would you have let go of him?" He sounded unsure of the question.
She tilted her head and looked down for a moment. "I would have," she said with conviction. She had already grown attached to Rusty by then, but she had no doubt that she would have done what was best for him. Even if just remembering how close she came to having to do just that, had a heavy lump forming in her throat again.
He nodded but remained quiet.
"But I'd have kept in touch, too," she added in a thick voice, lifting her head to focus on the road ahead of them. They were two blocks away from Bullhood Trucking.
"I won't forget him," Julio said, less resigned and more determined now.
She didn't reply, only hummed in understanding. There was nothing else to say on the matter.
"How are you?"
She hadn't had the chance to talk to him after he returned with Provenza from William Jones's home. Provenza had quickly filled her in before she went to talk to Wildred Darnell, but once she agreed to help them, Buzz had been sent out again.
With that now over; she refused to dwell on the unfortunate ending of that; she was on her way to meet Chief Howard with Provenza, but had a moment to spare. She found Buzz sitting at his desk and walked up to him. When he heard her, he looked up.
"Okay," he let out on a sigh, leaning back in his chair.
He was shaken up, she could tell. "I understand the case has come to a rather," she paused, searching for the right word, "bittersweet conclusion." Both cases did.
A rueful smile passed his features and he scoffed. "You could say that, Captain."
There was no need to elaborate further. She could see how arresting Billy Jones did not turn out to be as clear-cut as they hoped it would be. It would be a much more easily celebrated accomplishment had the man been nothing but a criminal like Hecht was. Adding the words 'family man' and 'responsible father' into the mix, unfortunately, tainted the arrest; regardless of how justified and deserved it ultimately was.
She tilted her head at him, intertwining the fingers of her folded hands in front of her. "I take it you have a lot to process now?" It sounded like a question, but she knew the answer to it, thus making more of a statement out of it.
"And a few more questions," he said almost absentmindedly.
She hummed in understanding. There was no need to ask what those questions were. In his shoes, she would look for answers to the same ones, she was sure. "Just keep in mind that justice was served," she paused for a moment to let the words sink in before continuing, "even if it seems more gray than black and white at the moment."
He looked back at the top of his desk, "Yeah, Lieutenant Provenza said something like that, too." He looked up at her, a small smile playing at his mouth now, "Although in much less nicer words."
She responded with a smile, "Oh, I can imagine." She held back an eye roll.
At that Provenza got up from his desk and the movement caught her attention. He was waiting for her. She untangled her fingers, letting her hands fall to her sides, and offered Buzz an apologetic shrug, "Speaking of Lieutenant Provenza, I should get going." She waved a hand in the direction of the Lieutenant in question.
Buzz stood up as well, "Yeah, Gus and Rusty are waiting for me anyway."
Before she turned around to join Provenza she gave Buzz another long look. "Good work today, Buzz."
He smiled, more genuinely this time, "Thank you, Captain."
With a last nod, he walked away to meet Gus and Rusty in the media room and she walked over to, the now impatiently waiting, Lieutenant.
So this is it. And yes, the Shandy bit took a silly turn, but can you blame me after that cliffhanger?! I had to cheer myself up!
Thanks for sticking with this! Your reviews were awesome and I hope that means you had as much fun reading this as I had writing it! :D
I tried keeping this as canon-compliant as possible, I hope I succeeded in that. xD
I'd love to write some scenes for the remaining 8 episodes once they're out, so do let me know if you'd be interested in that. I'll have much less free time on my hands by then and the updates would therefore not be as fast as these were, but I would definitely come up with something.
Again, thank you very much! See ya around! :)